


The one where maybe Jedi can have family (and it took the Clones to make them see it)

by Pepperonian



Series: Tales from the 473rd [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Anaxes, Being proud of your Jedi, Blink and Miss It, Blyla, Clone Wars, Clones, Compassion is the Jedi's Highest Law, Family Feels, Felucia, Force Empathy, Gen, Jedi, Jedi Lineages, Jedi trying and failing to contain their emotions, Lightsabers, Master & Padawan Relationship(s), Mentions of bad dreams, Non-Graphic Violence, Team as Family, The Force, because I'm trash for it, slight AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:34:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24633166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pepperonian/pseuds/Pepperonian
Summary: As far as Casey knows, he has hundreds of thousands of siblings. They were born to be brothers. Then, through sheer chance, he had a brother who didn’t share his face.***Clone Commander Casey and the Jedi who changed his mind. Lots of Jedi hated Clones. Far more loved them.
Relationships: CC-4565 | Casey & Briallen Tally, CC-5052 | Bly/Aayla Secura, Kayvin Avis & Briallen Tally, Kayvin Avis & CC-4565 | Casey
Series: Tales from the 473rd [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1776703
Comments: 3
Kudos: 31





	The one where maybe Jedi can have family (and it took the Clones to make them see it)

As far as Casey knows, he has hundreds of thousands of siblings. They were born to be brothers. Then, through sheer chance, he had a brother who didn’t share his face.

***

Casey was a shiny. Even as he marched wearily into his command tent at the end of the day, he knew he was a Shiny. Everything still felt a little… new. Despite the dirt and the generic Commander’s markings on his armour, Casey felt like he was still running training ops on Kamino.

“Commander.” One of his captains was making his way towards him, CT-8905, he thought. The names were taking a while to come to him. Hiro. Captain Hiro of the Hailfire Company. Casey didn’t know the brother very well, truth be told. He’d been rushed into service as the commander of this Battalion. Their old commander was dead.

“Yes, Captain?” He tried to hide the wariness in his voice. The entire Legion was hopelessly outnumbered and smashed to bits. There had been a Jedi General around at one point, but Casey thought he might have died somewhere along the front. Their line was spread too thin, and communication was patchy. He didn’t even know how the other regiments were doing.

Hiro caught up to him and fell in step, heading back towards the command ship. Miraculously, it hadn’t been blown up.

“We’ve got the communications terminal working again, sir,” Hiro was saying, “there’s an incoming transmission for General Jiri.”

Casey nearly groaned. “Did you tell them he’s dead?” He had to bite out the words.

“They knew that, Sir,” Hiro said. “They can’t get a hold of any commanding officers. They’ve all been reported dead or missing. You’re the first.”

He stopped abruptly, turning to look at his brother. “They want to talk to me?” Casey didn’t think he would ever see a bigger kriffing mess.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Fantastic,” he said, feeling less more and more like an unprepared shiny as he marched the rest of the way into the dim command room, Hiro at his shoulder.

“General Mundi, Sir,” he snapped into a salute. Not his sharpest, but he’d just left the trenches of the dusty, good-for-nothing moon. It was one of the important Jedi, from their high council. He gathered they probably weren’t impressed that this Legion had been all but wiped from the face of the planet, Jedi General included.

“Commander CC-4565, is it?” Mundi asked.

“That’s right, Sir.”

“I’m pleased we’ve gotten through to you, Commander,” Mundi said. “I won’t waste your time. You’re being ordered to retreat.”

Under his helmet, Casey’s jaw tightened. Retreat. They were several cycles too late. This legion’s back had been broken on this pointless battle. “General Windu will be along to pick up the survivors of the 66th Legion.”

“Of course, Sir. We’ll be ready.”

Mundi arched his brows. It was almost comical, really. They had rather a long way up to go. “I’m afraid I forgot to inform you, Commander. Your situation reports have been excellent, and you’ve lost fewer men and less ground than the one remaining in-tact regiment, and certainly the other battalions. You’ve been promoted to a more permanent position.”

That was enough to stop Casey’s brain short. “Sir?”

“The 66th legion is being disbanded, Commander. Your battalion is being reassigned to the 473rd legion.”

“I’m unfamiliar with that legion, Sir.” Casey said, honestly. “Who commands it?”

“You,” said Mundi, sounding a little amused. Casey’s helmet felt too tight. He didn’t think Jedi could be amused. “The 473rd is a new legion,” Mundi continued, “under General Avis. Avis and the rest of the 473rd will be arriving shortly to cover the rest of the retreat.”

Outside, a warning signal sounded. Without having to be told, Hiro left the command ship to check it out.

“Ah,” Mundi said with some satisfaction, hologram flickering slightly. “That will be him.”

“Thank you, General Mundi.” Casey said. It was all he could think to say.

“May the Force be with you, Commander,” Mundi responded, before the hologram wavered and disappeared.

When Casey left the ship, he could see troop carriers in the sky. Not enough for reinforcements. Nothing but a couple of battalions, he thought. Enough to let them escape.

Hiro was on his comms. “Confirmed Republic forces sir. General Avis is setting down not far from here.”

“You know anything about this General, Hiro?” Casey asked.

“Negative, Commander,” he replied. “Jedi Knight, I’d say. I’d probably recognise a Master.” Hiro paused, then added, “let’s hope he’s better than the last one.”

Casey should probably have reprimanded him for that comment. But to be honest, the Jedi had put an already depleted legion on the front lines of an unwinnable battle of a nothing and nowhere moon. Now that legion didn’t exist. He’d heard that some Jedi cared about their troops. Casey had never seen anything but indifference.

***

Avis, as it turned out, wasn’t what Casey had expected. He looked young. Younger than any Jedi Casey had ever served under. He wasn’t human either, Kessurian, he guessed. He was young, and he was annoyed. Casey didn’t think the Jedi were allowed emotions. But this one looked- anger was too strong a word- disgruntled, maybe. Disappointed.

Avis leapt from the transport before it was fully on the ground. Casey stepped forwards to meet him.

“General Avis, Sir,” he said, and started his report. Avis listened as they walked towards the trench line, entirely attentive, the montrals above his ears twitching occasionally. When Casey was finished, he nodded, and thanked him.

“If it weren’t for you, Commander, I don’t think there’d be a legion left to salvage.”

Casey was tired. It didn’t excuse the next words out of his mouth. “There would still have been a legion without this battle, Sir.”

Avis stopped in his tracks then. Casey felt the absolute horror flush his system, hot and cold. The Jedi was looking at him sideways.

“For the record, Commander,” Avis replied, slowly, “I’m not the only one who agrees with you.”

Casey thought perhaps he’d been hit in the head a little too hard. “Sir?”

Avis’ mouth was set in a grim line. “Of course, perhaps that should be a discussion for later. After all, we have an entire legion to establish. And survivors of this one to save.”

Casey managed, with admirable effort, to collect himself. Straightening, “yes Sir! Of course, Sir.”

One corner of Avis’ mouth seemed to twitch. Perhaps it was some aborted Jedi attempt at a smile. “My thanks, Commander. You may begin the withdrawal of your men. We’ll hold the line here for now.”

“Yes, Sir.” Casey saluted, and turned to walk away.

“One more thing commander,” the Jedi called.

Casey stopped dead.

“What’s your name?”

“CC- 4565, Sir.”

The Jedi was frowning. “I was of the understanding that Clones chose names for themselves, instead of numbers. Of course, I am happy to call you that if you wish.”

Casey, for what felt like an eternity, struggled to open his mouth. He was definitely too tired. “Casey, Sir,” he said. Avis nodded shortly, “I am pleased to meet you, Commander Casey.”

***

Case wasn’t sure when ‘the Jedi’ went from being ‘the Jedi’ to being ‘our Jedi.’ He thought, maybe, it was when he realised that, at least to Avis, he’d gone from being ‘Commander Casey’ to ‘Case.’ It seemed an absurd luxury to have two names, but Avis didn’t seem to realise that at all.

They’d been pinned down reinforcing the 327th Corps on Felucia.

_(“It’s always Felucia,” Commander Bly had grumbled when Case and Avis had met up with 327th’s command. “It’s like someone wants us to die here.”)_

Fighting was dense and visibility was poor. Strange as it was in the middle of a firefight, Case felt oddly proud of his men. They were adapting well to the conditions. Avis, of course, was pretty well adapted to any conditions. His lightsaber was a blaze of green in the darkness of the Felucian canopy. The Jedi was jumping from tank to tank, sheathing and unsheathing the blade between flurries of attacks to keep his location hidden, as the Hailfire Company laid down cover, blasting B1s through night vision goggles.

Their objective was simple. Join forces with General Secura’s 327th by punching a hole through the Separatist line to let their men through, and then advance together from there. The strategy? A stealth blitz by a small, elite force under the cover of darkness. Since the events that had led to the formation of the 473rd, Hailfire had gone on to become the 473rd’s best. Casey had personally promoted two to ARC troopers, and Hiro was his most trusted captain. The fighting in the clearing was thick, but one of the ARCs, Marker, and a trooper, Watts, had already taken out a pair of tanks. Avis was doing the rest.

Casey felt like he was almost having fun. The blasters felt light in his hands, and the droids were coming apart under his fire. Hiro’s lieutenant was whooping in the background, Z-6 Rotary whirring death in his hands. It was what, he realised, he thought it would be like. Back when he was young and idealistic. This is what it was about. Scrapping clankers with his brothers, and his Jedi.

“Case!” Avis called casually, from some kind of giant mushroom, “that’s all of them for now. We need to secure this position. Radio the men.”

“Yes, Sir!” Marker and Watts had just bumped their helmets together and whooped, their own personal victory dance, and Casey smiled as he motioned Hiro forward to get him to relay the message.

Avis would call him Case about eight more times before he’d realise it. When he did, it took less than a second for him to realise he didn’t even mind.

***

Later, when they’d beaten the separatist line into submission, he was debriefing with Commander Bly when they’d overheard a friendly conversation between Bly’s men in gold, and Casey’s largely unmarked men.

“Reckon we’re lucky to have General Secura,” one was saying, “not a better Jedi around.”

Bly was expressionless, but unless Case was mistaken, he thought the Commander nodded, just a little.

The 473rd troopers clearly didn’t agree. There was a loud chorus of dissent, “I don’t think so,” one was saying. Case smiled. Hopper. He’d fought well today. “You’ve never seen a Jedi like General Avis,” Hopper was saying, “he’s like a whirlwind of green light.”

“That’s standard for Jedi,” someone disputed. “The general knows my name.”

“General Avis knows mine,” Hopper clipped back, “and the 473rd had the fewest casualties in the sector the last six cycles.”

“He takes fewer risks though,” the gold trooper shot back, “all the best Jedi are a little bit reckless. It’s called bravery.”

Casey could hear the legitimate confusion in Hopper’s voice as he shot back, “where’d you get that idea?”

One of the Captains must have come forward at that point, putting the argument away before it could get ugly. But Case understood anyway. Secura and Bly’s men had been together since the beginning of the War. The 473rd wasn’t like that. They were the shinies and the old, broken down dregs of decimated legions from the outer rim conflicts. They’d all been forgotten or spare before General Avis. He wasn’t reckless in the slightest. And Casey knew why. They all belonged to him, as much as he belonged to them. And he wasn’t going to let anything take them all apart again.

***

Back on the _Integral_ , hovering in the atmosphere, Avis asked why they didn’t have armour painted like the other legions.

There were a number of reasons, of course, but mostly they didn’t have the paint. Secretly, Case knew that a lot of the men hadn’t wanted to give up their old colours.

After Felucia, that had changed. They felt like a unit. A cohesive legion. It felt good.

Case must have mentioned to the quartermaster something about a shipment of green paint being “essential.”

General Avis must have blinked and missed the entry when he approved it for their next supply run.

***

When Case imagined his brothers, it had once been a stretch to imagine them with a face that could look different to his own. Now, his brother was a Force-using alien Jedi. He wouldn’t have it any other way. Still… He’d never once imagined having a sister.

***

The Commander was a weird kid. If Casey was honest, he didn’t really think about Jedi kids. And now, there she was, dogging the General’s heels like he was her long-lost father. In a way, Case supposed he was. Jedi were like clones that way; they weren’t supposed to have parents.

_(Though he laughed at the thought of someone telling Shaak Ti that. Some of the shinies called her ‘ma.’)_

The troops weren’t quite sure what to make of Commander Tally either. Though he hadn’t experienced it himself, there were rumours of her popping up unannounced in the mess to talk with whoever happened to be eating a meal. And she wouldn’t stop asking questions. Captain Hiro, bemused, had reported she’d asked him about the curling horns painted on the sides of his helmet. Just because she wanted to know.

When Case raised it with Avis, he had frowned. “She was meant to be meditating,” he said.

“Could she be getting bored, Sir?”

He shook his head, “doubtful. She meditates even when I don’t ask her too. She enjoys it more than is usual,” the frown had softened into one of bemusement. “I wonder why she wanders off like that.”

Whatever Avis was teaching her, it didn’t stop the wandering. It happened about once a week when they were ship bound on the Integral. She’d just… appear. It took a while for Casey to notice a pattern. He had to see it first-hand to even begin to understand.

They’d just been reassigned. Back to the Outer Rim sieges. Clean up at Anaxes and then to which ever other planet needed reinforcements. On his way back from a late-night strategy debrief with the captains and some of his lower-level commanders, he passed the mess. No one was scheduled for a meal, but one of the older troopers was walking out. He saluted as Casey approached. “Sir!”

“At ease, Link,” he said. Link looked sheepish. Not exactly guilty, but maybe unsure if he’d done the right thing.

“What are doing about this late? It’s not your duty rotation, is it?”

“Sorry, Sir,” Link replied, uneasily, “just… had a bad dream, is all.”

Case nodded. They weren’t supposed to have dreams at all. A lot of things were supposed to have happened in this war, though. The mess, late at night, was cool and generally empty. Casey had been there once before after waking up in a sweat, regulation blankets tangled between his legs.

“You alright, trooper?”

To his surprise, Link nodded. “Yeah, the commander showed up. It’s funny how she knows, eh?”

With that, he turned away from Case, and moved back down the halls towards the sleeping quarters. “Night, Sir!”

It took Case a while to figure out who ‘the commander’ All of the high-ranking brothers had been with him, which only left… Kriff. Link had called her ‘she.’ He almost missed her when he went into the mess to investigate. She wasn’t sitting anywhere. It was only when Case got a glimpse of movement behind one of the tables that he saw her.

Tracking across the rows of benches and tabletops, he found her. The movement had been her hand falling away from her chest as she slept. Commander Tally was passed out on the mess hall benches. She looked even less like a Jedi than she had to begin with. She slept with her mouth open, and her short hair was a little wild. Asleep, Case was visibly struck by how young she was. He was a newer clone, but even then, he’d probably been alive almost as long as her, and she was a nat-born. She couldn’t have been more than fourteen. Actually fourteen, not like a clone with accelerated growth and training. She was a kriffing kid.

He didn’t feel like he had the right to wake her. He commed Avis, instead.

When he arrived, looking perfectly put together, and not like he’d just been woken, he looked equal parts amused and concerned. It was the most emotion Case had ever seen him outwardly display. “What exactly happened for you to find her?”

Case filled him in. Link. The nightmare. His hunch that she was still in the Mess.

Avis frowned. “I believe you’ve solved the mystery, Case.”

Blank misunderstanding must have been something that Avis could feel through the Force because he clarified. “There are a lot of emotions on this ship. More than Briallen is probably used to. The Jedi temple is a very serene environment, by comparison.”

He looked, Case thought, almost fond, as he bent down and scooped her up gently. She didn’t move a jot. “She’s a very strong empath,” Avis noted, as he started to carry her out of the mess, “I believe that’s how she was found and brought to the temple. She is just unused to unguarded emotion.”

Case, following him for a reason he couldn’t explain, didn’t understand. “What does that have to do with her finding troopers in the mess?”

“I believe during meditation she has been sensing the emotional turmoil of the troops, and then become distracted by it. She must have been seeking them out to comfort them, if what Link reported about feeling better was true.” He looked at Case sideways, over the Commander’s head. “You were right, back at the Temple, Case. She is very much a Jedi. Compassion is one of our highest laws.”

That startled him a little. He hadn’t thought, when Avis had asked his opinion of the girl, that he in anyway had listened. If he had, Case worried that he thought the judgement was poor. The commander was so young. Maybe the boy youngling would have been a better fit. Instead, Avis had picked Commander Tally. And if the approval in his tone was anything to go by, he didn’t regret his choice in the slightest. He cleared his throat, where a lump of emotion was trying to form. His emotional response from earlier was feeling more and more like protectiveness. “What are you going to do about it, Sir?”

Avis sighed. He must have been more tired than he let on. “In a perfect world, Case? I’d probably encourage it. But…” He trailed off to nod down at the comatose girl. “The emotional response is burning her out. It’s why she’s so quick to sleep. Perhaps with time and safety I could perfect it, but for now I’ll teach her to shield herself from it, even in meditation.”

“Should I tell the men anything, Sir? Tell them to rein it in?”

Avis shook his head slightly. “Your emotions are your right, Case. I’m sure Briallen would be as horrified as I to suggest that.”

Case felt a little caught off guard, at that. Perhaps Avis didn’t know exactly what training was required of the CC units on Kamino. Still, it wasn’t something he was going to raise in the middle of the night.

“As you wish, Sir.”

They stopped in front of the entrance to Commander Tally’s quarters. “Goodnight, Sir.” Case said.

“Goodnight, Case,” came the reply. “Try to get some sleep, Commander,” he added. “That’s an order.”

***

As much as they were clearly getting inside Commander Tally’s head, Casey hadn’t even considered just how quickly she was going to get in their heads. Anaxes, he and Avis agreed, was just the right kind of operation for her to get her introduction to combat. Separatist forces were all but gone. Kenobi, Skywalker and Windu had torn through them before being redeployed to more pressing fronts. Akiva had been over quickly. Anaxes promised to be a longer campaign.

Their first day planet side saw them at a Republic Starship Assembly Base. The admiral, a human, seemed pleased to have them there. Pockets of droid resistance in the surrounding foothills and canyons.

Avis frowned. “Unusual,” he remarked, before turning to Commander Tally. “Why would that be, Padawan?”

She responded with no hesitation, though she was dwarfed by everyone around her. “Droids usually lack the creative thought necessary to continue a campaign without an organic military commander, Master.”

“Very good,” Avis said.

Case tried to ignore the small lick of pride.

“And thus…”

“A separatist commander has probably been left on the planet, Master,” she smiled, “a separatist insurance policy.”

Hiro grunted. “Could get nasty. Guerrilla warfare.”

“Not if we keep our wits about us, Captain,” Avis said, perfectly calm.

Casey was right. It ended up being a long campaign. The separatists would engage a scouting party, or a gate-check team. Once they even took a shot at a troop carrier cycling a new squad into the area.

Casey saw her fight the first time from a distance. She had two lightsabers, but she was using only one. Unlike Avis, hers was bright blue as it cut a zig-zag path through a scouting group of droids. The men she was with were laying down cover fire, but seemed content to let her go, blazing down the canyon. High on the troop carrier that was coming to return this scouting party to their base, Casey and Avis watched.

“Was she always that good, Sir?” His long-forgotten misgivings had blown away since Felucia. Having a Jedi on your side far outweighed the negatives. And those were few and far between these days. Even a kid Jedi like the Commander was an advantage Casey would be loath to lose.

“No,” Avis replied, sound pleased. “She lacks confidence,” he said, “but she’s improved since Akiva.”

Her troops on the ground whooped when she decapitated the last droid. Casey laughed. Avis looked slightly happier than usual.

***

Avis gave his Padawan her nickname around about when Case realised he’d somehow acquired a sister. A younger, weirder sister.

“Master,” Commander Tally interrupted the briefing. Case nearly fell over he was so surprised. She was usually quiet, which he had once interpreted as respect, and now knew had largely been nerves. Then again, while they’d been on Anaxes she’d had a birthday, collected her first war scar and taken out her first squad of clankers, so speaking up in a meeting wasn’t too big a deal. They'd all grown. Just none so much as the her.

Avis paused in his breakdown of the intel they’d just received from Marker. The ARC trooper had been gone for days, tracking a pair of B1s that had been allowed to escape from the last battle. He’d come back with definitive proof of a separatist ground leader. He’d also found proof of a massing of droids for one final attack. “Yes?” Avis had turned his attention to his padawan.

“You can’t go after their commander. You’re too recognisable.”

Avis tilted his head slightly to one side. “Explain further, Padawan.”

Tally approached the holo-table quickly. “From their position, their greatest advantage is their line of sight. They’ll be able to see everything coming.”

“It’s not like I was going to walk up to the front door, Briallen.”

She nodded, “I know, Master, but what if you did? With a large force. They’d see you coming, and send their forces out to confront you once and for all. Then someone could slip in unnoticed and finish it off.” She gestured at the topography display. “That way, you don’t have to fight an entire battalion in close quarters just to kill off one leader.”

Avis was expressionless, evaluating. “And what of their leader? Who’ll arrange his capture whilst I’m being a distraction.”

Tally tilted her chin up. “Me, Master. I’m less noticeable. They expect me to be where you are. And I believe I am capable of apprehending the Neimoidian myself.”

The general looked at her for a long time. Casey wondered what he was thinking. Was he weighing up the obvious sense the Commander had put into her strategy with whatever protective instinct he felt? If that was the case, Casey thought he knew which would win.

“Very well, Briallen,” he said, “we’ll do it your way.” She nodded graciously, but Casey smirked in his bucket at the pleased gleam in her eyes.

“Commander Casey will go with you.”

Commander Tally looked at him sideways and smiled. “As you like, Master.”

“It’s settled then,” Avis said, and turned to Captain Hiro, “the entirety of Hailfire Company should gear up. We’ll leave in an hour.”

Hiro saluted, “Sir, yes Sir.” When he’d left, Avis turned to his two remaining commanders. “It’s a good plan, Briallen,” he said, gently, “but you do not have to do this If you feel unprepared.”

Tally faced up to him squarely. “I’m ready, master,” she said, “and it’s not like I’ll be alone.”

Avis did another of his half-smiles. “Of course not.”

***

It was rather more explosive than Casey would have liked. He’d later muse that it probably took years off his already limited life. Still, it ended with a captured separatists and no republic losses.

Tally’s Jedi cloak was dark green, and new. She caught him staring at it and grinned. “I wanted to match,” she said, and pulled her cowl over her head. Casey flicked his own dark green visor down.

“I like it, Commander,” he said.

They set out before the rest of the troops, moving under their own steam. Tally could see even when she was blind, and the visor helped Casey as they moved silently through the silky black that came just before dawn on Anaxes. They kept to the clifftops, staying away from the edges to save them being sighted by any droids looking up. Each step threw up little puffs of dirt. Casey wasn’t sure if she was using the Force, but even significantly shorter than him, Tally easily kept pace. Casey was glad when she suggested they break just before dawn. The attack would be beginning soon, and he could see the gleam of a Battle Droid at the bottom of the canyon, guarding the entry to the system of caves they knew the last dregs of separatist forces were hiding in.

“We made good time,” he said, trying not to pant. Tally, peering over the edge, made a quiet noise of agreement.

“All that’s left is to wait,” she agreed, and folded her legs neatly under herself to sit. Despite the meditation pose, and the lightsabers, and the cloak, she still looked like a kid playing dress up.

“I’m surprised the general even sent you on this mission,” Casey thought, realising all too late that it was out loud.

“Why?” Tally asked without opening her eyes. “It was a good plan. It makes sense.”

Casey shifted his feet uncomfortably in the dirt. “No reason,” he said, backtracking, “it’s just like…. You’re his kid, or whatever, like he’s protective of you.”

She opened her eyes then, and looked at him quizzically. “Do you mean Kayvin is my father?”

Casey shrugged helplessly. “I guess that’s the closest thing I know of to… whatever you have.”

Tally hummed thoughtfully. “You’re not wrong, exactly,” she said, “Masters and Padawans have been known to form strong bonds in the Force. It is not uncommon. And we have Lineages, of course. I suppose that could look a little like a family tree.”

“Lineages?” The term was entirely new to him.

“It’s like a path of knowledge,” she said, “passed down from Master to Padawan, linking generations.”

“So,” Casey grappled trying to find the right words, “a family without blood.”

“In a way,” Tally said, “you might say that each new generation inherits teachings, rather than genes. There are many famous lineages through history. General Skywalker’s Master is General Kenobi, and his Grand-Master was Master Qui-Gon. He was strong with the Force.”

“So your Grandmaster is like your grandfather?” Casey asked. To his surprise, Tally shook her head. “I do not have a Grandmaster,” she said, “she died at the first battle of Geonosis. Besides, the relationship is not as linear as that. Parental is not an accurate description of the bond. It is more than that.” She frowned, “I cannot put it into words.”

“It’s okay,” Casey said. He’d learnt more about the Order in five minutes with Tally than he had in nearly two years with Avis. If he wasn’t careful, his head was going to start hurting again.

Tally’s wrist com went off just as she went to close her eyes again. Over the com Casey could hear the slightly tinny voice of the General. “Briallen, are you in position?”

“Yes, Master. Commander Casey and I are ready.”

“Very well,” Avis said, sounding a little tense. You’d have to know him well to hear the strain in his voice. “May the Force be with you, Padawan.”

“And with you, Master.” The com went silent just as the warning siren started to scream and the sound of blaster fire erupted from the canyon below.

Casey looked to the horizon, just beginning to stain with the strange dawn on Anaxes. “It’s go time,” he said. “You ready, Commander?”

She smiled in the dark, looking for the first time like the warrior all Jedi were, under the skin or not. “I hope you’ve got your climbing gear, Case.”

With barely a whisper, she was over the ledge, landing silently on a narrow ledge meters down. Casey swung the climbing picks in his hands. He was eschewing a grappling gun; too obvious. It was a good thing he passed climbing skills on Kamino top of his batch. It was easy enough rock to anchor into, swinging himself down after Tally as she flipped and swung off small branches and rock ledges. Kriff, he wanted to be a Jedi sometimes. As much as he enjoyed rock-climbing, when they reached the side-cave they would be entering through his arms hurt. Tally had never looked more excited. Maybe if Avis had told her they were going on a meditation retreat, she would have looked more enthused.

Inside was dark and dry. In some parts, it was far too narrow for Casey’s tastes. Still, they found the Neimoidian separatist easily enough. He’d kept a slightly larger entourage then expected, given General Avis and Hailfire were barreling down the canyon with- as far as the Neimoidian knew- the express purpose of setting all the separatists on fire.

It could, if he was honest have gone better. The corridor outside what was clearly the command centre was narrow and packed with droids. A bolt grazed Case’s shoulder as he came around the corner. Commander Tally’s lightsaber moved so fast it’s distinctive hum was a song, deflecting the others away from them.

“Sithspit,” he swore.

Tally hissed angrily, like she’d felt it too, and stepped in front of him. He could only watch as she drew and ignited her second lightsaber, and it ignited in an indigo blaze.

Casey stared at it and wonder if Jedi could even have different coloured sabers. Then again, he’d never seen one fight with two before. Once he did, it was a sight he swore he’d never forget. Tally’s features had settled back into perfectly serene, as she cut her way through the corridor, not caring if her sabers cut up the walls as well as the droids. Casey was beginning to wonder why he’d even been required. By the time he’d stepped over the scrap metal that was left behind, Commander Tally had the Neimoidian cornered.

She didn’t see the concealed blaster. “Briallen!” He yelled, instinctively horrified, instinctively angry that anyone would even dare. His own pistol was in his hand faster than he could ever remember drawing it. It was a good shot, even by his standards. Clean through the hand.

Briallen cut through the blaster as it fell to the floor, and let her other saber rest just a little closer to the separatist’s throat. “The republic is willing to hear your terms for surrender,” she said, entirely calm.

Casey grinned.

“You’ll not get away with this,” the Neimoidian spat, “I have thousands more droids at my disposal. You won’t survive them all.”

Briallen frowned. Casey tried not to panic. They didn’t know about any other droids. All reports pointed towards the idea that the last holdouts of this cell were nearly depleted. He wrestled with his emotions, trying to bring them back in line. There was no proof. His companion seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

“We’ll see about that,” she said. “Case, watch him.” Sheathing her lightsabers, she bent over the control panels.

Wordlessly, and without taking his eyes off the target, Case tossed her a memory disc.

The Neimoidian protested: “this is espionage!”

“Shut it, sleemo,” Case told him and drew his second blaster, just to make a point.

Tally finished her work quickly. “He was lying,” she said, almost cheerfully. “No droids, but an impressive self-destruct mechanism. He clearly didn’t anticipate us.”

“Nice work there, Commander,” he told her.

She smiled, at him as she retrieved the memory disc.

“You too, Commander. Do you particularly feel like saving this slime-hole?”

“Nah,” Case said, “we got what we came for, and more. Let them blow up their own base.”

***

Avis was as close to frantic as Case had ever seen him when they emerged from the mouth of the cave, blasting and cutting their way through the meagre remaining resistance. The separatist was out cold and draped over Casey’s shoulder. They’d sent a signal out warning of the imminent self-destruct a couple of minutes ago.

The general, for his part, did well to dampen his concern. “Bria,” he called, sounding only slightly relieved.

She smiled, despite the dust and oil on her face, “hey, Master. We brought you a present!”

Avis relaxed as soon as they’d gotten all the way down the canyon. A troop carrier picked them up. Hailfire Company, the two Jedi and Case watched the explosion from the sky.

The men cheered.

‘Bria’ as she’d now been dubbed smiled even as her hair whipped around her face.

Avis looked as stoic as ever, but Case could tell he was proud.

Not a single loss, today. All objectives completed.

“All in a day’s work,” Captain Hiro remarked.

“Here’s to many more!” Cheered Watts and Link.

Hooper hollered, “for the Republic!” Out into the sky.

***

When they got back to base, Avis got new orders. Redeployment. Leave cancelled. It didn’t sting as much as it could have. They were all back aboard the _Integral_. Whatever happened next, Case was pretty sure he had the best of his brothers, and his only sister, at his back.

***

“Master,” Case heard Bria say as they walked down the corridor away from their latest debrief, “I think you might have been wrong.”

“Oh?” Avis replied, mild, “about what?”

“When you took me as your Padawan, you told me you didn’t have a Lineage.”

“I don’t,” Avis replied, evenly, “my master died on Geonosis.”

Case had never felt more like an older brother than when he could hear the smile in the Commander’s voice.

“Yeah,” she said, “but I’d say Casey’s a part of your Lineage. So he’s part of mine too. And the others are part of Casey’s lineage, so their all of ours.”

For a long while, Case didn’t hear Avis respond. Eventually,

“Padawan, your observation is entirely correct.”

**Author's Note:**

> Whew! That took a couple of days. Its still pretty canon-compliant at this point, as far as I can tell. This will probably be five installments long, and I think four deals with the AU the most! 
> 
> Again, I'm absolute Blyla trash so there's a kind of easter egg for them in there. 
> 
> Also the concept of a Jedi Lineage is something I've read about and enjoyed in other fics- I didn't invent it and as far as I know its not canon. I just wanted to expand on it a little bit more here. Also the term 'Grandmaster' is something I've just seen around fics and liked.
> 
> Also, the vast majority of characters in this are OCs save Commander Bly, Aayla, and of course, Ki-Adi-Mundi, of course. 
> 
> Thank you so much to whoever reads this. Every single hit literally makes my day (which is a bit of cliche, but there you go)


End file.
